Chat #4 (The final chat)
- Bend Racing
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
The Magnificent Race 2026 - Chat #4
With one week to go until we see all of you, we imagine many of you are busy traveling and doing the last bit of your packing. We ourselves are busy tying up all of our loose ends and getting everything we can dialed in for all of you. While short, this chat does have some important information, so please be sure to share it with your teammates.
EMBARGO
PLEASE consider this an official request to STAY OFF THE COURSE or any areas that you believe to be part of the course between now and the event start.
Housekeeping
PLB and Flare info needed
We are missing PLB info from a number of teams. Please input this ASAP into the Form link you were given in a previous chat. We need this (or a confirmation that you’d like to rent a PLB from us ($70)) by Tuesday Feb 24 (tonight) at the latest. Same for FLARE orders ($20/each). We will not have the capacity to help you sort this if you do not comply. And you will not be racing without these two items - full stop, as they are the most crucial parts of our Health and Safety plan. Thx!
Check In Flow and Schedule:
Location: Gore Town and County Club
The check in will begin at 8 am on Saturday the 28th. Please look at this sheet to see your team’s check in time and team number. We will try to keep it short and sweet. Below are a few things to know in order to help us keep it this way:
There will be minimal gear checks at check in. Most of the gear checks will happen out on the race course in the TA’s. However, if you have any questions about your gear, please feel free to bring it to check in. Mandatory check-in gear check list: First aid kit, wetsuits, boat tethers, flares, throwbags, PLB.
The first station will be paperwork, payments, and gear pick up, so please be prepared with cash or to do a bank transfer if you have not done so already.
The very last station will be one where you pick up your prologue map, this is meant to be fun, to give some love to the town of Gore, and to shake out the legs a little. So if you would like to start right from the venue, we suggest you dress accordingly.
The swim test will be open from 9AM -1PM and can be done as part of your prologue.
You’ll be asked to sign a statement saying that you will abide by the ARWS and race specific rules (even if you have not read them!). ARWS rules can be found here
Gear labeling: we ask that you pre-label your bins, bags, bikes, helmets with your team # (again, your team numbers in this sheet). Duct tape and sharpie pen are fine. We’ll also have these available at check in if you need them. Bins should be clearly labeled so it's easy for us to know your team number so if your bin/bag is covered with other numbers, please remove them or label your bin 'MAG2 Team ##' or similar. Bikes can be labeled with folded duct-tape tabs on either seatposts/rails, brake cables, or top tubes. We don't care--but PLEASE have all bikes in your team labelled similarly as this helps us keep team bikes together. Thanks!
Watches: Teams that are using Garmin watches (only legal GPS watches) must register them at check in with the referee.
Prologue and swim test:
There will be a short fun prologue to complete after check in. It should be less than an hour by bike, and you can combine it with the swim test if you want. It will be a fun lap around Gore with a few cultural experiences… and maybe some moonshine.
The swim test will be at the Gore Aquatic Center. It will require all racers to tread water for 80 seconds and then immediately swim 25m within 40 seconds. Fail this and you will not be allowed to do the full coasteering stage.
PreRace Meeting and Bins turn in:
You will be able to pick up your maps at 4PM (by turning in your prologue passport), and then we will begin the pre-race meeting at 4:30 PM.
We'll aim to keep things concise to give you time for last minute gear shuffle, and then start accept bins/bags from 7-9PM. We'll be weighing heavy feeling bins so be prepared with appropriate KGs. A room is also available for storage during the entirety of the race.
The Race will start at 7am on Sunday, March 1st. The course will close 6.5 days later, at the tail end of the awards ceremony. So yeah, if you maximize your time out there, you'll have a well fed and showered cheering squad welcoming you across the finish line.
Last Minute Swag Codes and Orders:
One of the stations will be a swag station where some of our sponsors are giving away some really sweet and useful gear and fuel! So bring a backpack, as we will not have any bags there.
For anyone wanting to purchase gels or bars from BeeFast before the race, Flynn and Jonty can have these available for pickup at race registration on Saturday. Orders can be placed up until Thursday night using the "MAG15" discount for 15% off your order. We have been devouring the bars, and think they are some of the best we have ever tasted!
And USWE is also offering a code that is good from now until mid March for all racers - use MAGNIFICENT25.
Glenn of Blue Duck Packrafts will be around with his boats - for those with other brands, it might be worth checking out the fastest and most versatile tandem packraft we’ve ever paddled. He’ll be answering any questions and will also be giving away some pretty significant discounts to the podium teams.
Last Thoughts about the Course:
We’ve spent some great time these last 3 weeks exploring some rugged and beautiful country, and we are beyond excited to watch you explore it!
Sleep card:
It's worth starting to think about this now. Teams will be required to take 8 hours of "sleep" during the race. This can be at many of the TAs (TA4-9) as well as a few CPs. To count, these stops must be a minimum of 2 hours, and in 1 hour increments. Ex. a team could do 4x2 hour stops, or 2x3 hours and a 2 hour stop, or even a full 8 hours stop in a Dark Zone. This may not be "all" the sleep you need on the course and there is no requirement that you actually "sleep" during these stops (although sleep is always necessary when you can get it). These stops will add to the strategy of the dynamic coastal sections by allowing teams that are stopped in the first DZ to not be impacted so much by teams catching up. In addition, it will allow teams to attack the ocean paddle, sea caves, and coasteering in a less cognitively impaired state and even in some cases to 'choose' their tides/wind conditions/swell conditions, if they hit this stage when things are rough. Things change rapidly out there.
The sleep can also be used before the huge mountain orienteering section to maximize daylight, or even before the final river paddle which has actual navigation and will be more challenging at night. Lots of choice. Lots to analyze. We'll enjoy making commentary online as the race unfolds.
Water on course:
There is LOTS of water all over the course. You are likely to never move for more than an hour without crossing water. Treat the water if in doubt. Lots of Kiwi adventurers drink water from rivers and creeks all over the country, but more and more DOC is saying you should boil it or filter it. Use your judgement. We drank water from much of the course (even some of the campgrounds where they tell you to boil it) and have been fine. We’ve also ridden through farmland where filtering is a must. Last year there was a bout of a bacterial stomach bug that hit a number of racers - traced back to the very first ride and VERY muddy conditions that covered racers, faces, water bottles etc with mud from farm tracks. People washed their bikes and bodies in the pristine lake at the TA, near where people were filling bottles for the mountain trek. Well…umm - not such a magnificent idea. Filtering/treating takes less time than heading into the ferns every 30 minutes or so.
Shelters:
Shelters are required most of the stages, but take note that after about the halfway mark you will be transitioning from seeing Bin A, to seeing Bin B. So if you want more deluxe accommodations than your ultralight Bothy bag, you might think about where you want to store it. Safe bet, is in Bin A, and carry it with you to Bin B. But that is a long carry.
Gear Drop bag:
This bag can be one of your existing paddle bags, a backpack etc, and will be packed right before you leave on the Coasteering leg, and delivered to you about halfway through the stage once you are safely through the coastal cliffs. It can be any weight you want, but you will need to carry it (the bag and all contents) for the rest of the stage.
Bin/bagweights:
Bins can be 30kg, Paddle bags (2) can be a combined weight of 50kg.
Biking and Running shoes and Hike-a-Bikes.
Most of the biking legs will have sections of trekking in them (either with or without your bike) so we suggest teams that are not using flat pedals bring running shoes with them on several of the bike stages. In particular the two hike-a-bikes: PRO points only on stage 3, and the main route on stage 9. These will be VERY difficult in bike shoes. They will be very difficult in trekking shoes too, but less so for sure.
We are so excited!!!
So without further ado - check out the racer guide here for a little glimpse of what is in store. Note, the time estimates have changed a bit, and we’ve further divided things by time estimates for the main CP controls, vs PRO, vs O-points to help more “experience” motivated teams choose appropriate paths forward once they are looking at their maps. There is also a map that will give you a very high level view of the course and make it look easy. Note, these are digital copies only - you will not be receiving paper copies of the below info during check in. You will have a more race oriented "route book" which will have specific stage rules, route clues, etc.
Comments